When storing, compressing or transmitting a picture or video content, digital data includes constrained bit depths. Each pixel of a screen image can be displayed using a combination of three different color signals, for example red, green and blue, however combinations of different colors and even different numbers of colors can be implemented. The appearance of each pixel (region) is controlled by the intensity of the combinations of colors. The amount of information that is stored about a pixel determines its color depth, which controls how precisely the pixel's color can be specified. This is also typically referred to as the bit depth, because the precision of color depth is specified in bits. The more bits that are used per pixel, the finer the color detail of the image. However, increased color depths also require significantly more memory for storage or transmission of an image, and also generate more data to process.
Picture material and video content are available with high bit depth providing a high color accuracy and a high dynamic range, however, current transmission media and storage formats put limitations on the amount of data that can be processed. In many instances, compression or bandwidth limitations forces the bit depth to be reduced.
Therefore, a need exists for a method and system that optimizes the bit depth constraints to improve the precision of a picture when reducing the bit depth for storage or transmission and for providing high quality graphics while enabling storage and transmission compatible with current transmission and storage techniques.